Hmm sun or nanday??

[DannyA93]

I haven't seen anybody compare these two? and i didn't find much on comparison. I want a sun conure and i was looking at my local breeders website and they have nandays for about $40 cheaper, and they're bigger, (i like big birds haha), but how do they generally compare? i'm not looking at colors because i know that will wear off if i don't like the personality! but anyway i know they both can be LOUD but ill just buy my family earplugs til he learns to quiet down but which are more cuddly? which is more playful? i wouldn't mind one bit if i had a velcro bird! i think i would actually prefer it. which is more independent?? thanks in advance

 

[ConureCrazy]

Hi! I, sadly, can't help you, but maybe you could pm bumblebec, she/he has a sun and an nanday. Hopefully she (or he)will see this thread and reply.

Wait! I used to babysit a sun. I never been around a nanday, so I can't compare. But, the sun conure, Zeke, was a LOUD fellow!! Be ready for that! He was nice though, just not around me. He loved his owners and was very playful. Not so cuddly... but everybird is different, so take that in mind.
Good luck with you choice, and see if you can pm bumblebec. Sure she can help!

 

[WindyRed]

I've interacted with both of them quite a bit but haven't lived with them. I'm not going to offer my opinions here unless you cant get ahold of bumblebec. I'm actually very interested to hear what she has to say so I hope she'll respond to the thread!

About the only thing I WILL say is that I dearly love both birds. I think a handraised Nanday is one of the sweetest things ever.

 

[DannyA93]

Ok how do you search people?? i hope s/he replies! i've researched suns for over a year now so i think i pretty much know about suns besides the actual living experience stuff if that makes sense haha but i've looked into lots of different species and always came back to the sun but then i heard some good stuff about nandays so now im checking out nandays

 

[DannyA93]

Well i found bumblebec!!! i sent a pm and asked that s/he respond here so you guys can also see what s/he has to say!

 

[friedsoup]

Having worked with both I'd say it's a toss up on the noise level and as for friendliness depends on the bird, as for loyalty the Nandy are famous for the loyalty to their owners so alot of time must be spent on socializing your bird to keep it from attacking people who get near you. Sun's are more clowns and could care less who gets near you as long as they are not threatend . Hope this helps.

 

[bumblebec]

Yes! I have a sun AND a nanday.

They are both very different, and both have a few stereotypical attitudes and quirks I've found a lot of suns and nandays share.

My sun conure is a year and a half old, she's a real sweet heart (most days) but is also very bossy, nippy and completely no-touchy. When she was a baby, she was a typical young sun conure - cuddly, friendly, silly. But as she turned about 7months~12months she became more aggressive and is very hands off. She loves to sit with you and just be in your company, groom you etc - but if you try to pet her she'll scream at you and maybe even give you a warning bite. She steps up easily and all of that, but doesn't want to be petted at all. Sun Conures are mainly known for being bossy, playful, friendly, nippy, dominant and cuddly. Lola is most of these things, except cuddly. I know a few people with sunnies like her, but MAJORITY of sun conures do love cuddles and lots of attention.

My nanday is completely different, she is a clumsy, silly, cuddly snugglebug who just wants to be literally cuddled like a puppy constantly. She is the sweetest little thing and secretly my favourite. She is slightly bigger then Lola and looks kinda chubby. She is probably the best bird I've ever owned. She is a MASSIVE drama queen, however. She will have days when she chucks huge tantrums and is a big grumpy bum. Especially after baths, she LOVES water and bathing, but as soon as she's finished and is all wet, she gets incredibly grumpy and irritable and you can't even look at her or she'll scream at you and go to bite you, lol. She's only grumpy while she's wet though, so only for an hour or two, then she gets completely over it. As long as you don't pay her any attention after a bath, she's fine. lol. Nandays in general and very known for being huge drama queens, but also very sweet, cuddly and affectionate.

They are both very, very different. But they share one common trait, they are very loud. Now, I would not compare them to a cockatoo or macaw, however, they have a very high pitched screech. Some people just cannot handle it. I personally don't find it that bad, but some people think it's the worst noise in the world. I would suggest visiting breeders and suns/nandays in person as youtube videos and sound files do not do their sound justice. If you live with more then 1 person, then take them with you. It's a hard noise for some people to put up with... but I don't think it's that bad. I've heard lorikeets, greencheeks, princess parrots, ekkies, african greys, ringnecks and alexandrines make high pitched noises that sound identical, so I think suns and nandays are given a bad reputation over their "screaming" but it's really... not that bad. My two only scream for a few minutes when we get home from work, and when we get up in the morning. They don't make a peep while we're not home, and when we are home during the day, they might scream maybe 1~3 times, if at all. If they are on your shoulder when they scream, yes, your ear will ring for a second! I'm not saying they aren't loud, but they aren't as bad as people make them out to be. I've found that a lot of suns and nandays have different sounding screams, too. Luckily, my two don't have obnoxious sounding ones. People also say nandays are louder, however my sun is slightly louder then my nanday.

Both my birds are friendly, but they are not good with strangers as they get scared and go quiet. They are bonded to me as well as each other, but still like to be with my mum. In my opinion, nandays are awesome birds and I would suggested/pick on over a sun anyday, but it really depends on the individual bird. Probably like 80% of suns are cuddly little love machines, but then you get ones like Lola, as well. So it really depends. There are general stereotypes they share but most of the time, it's the individual bird's personality.

Feel free to ask my any questions I missed!

 

[DannyA93]

I actually like the sound of a sun scream how is the nanday scream different? i would love a bird that just wants to be involved with what im doing? (and dont mention gcc, i already looked into those haha) basically a best birdie friend! you know what i mean? i live with my mom and 2 sisters and my mom seems to be interested in my budgie alot so i know she'll be interested in my new conure, which is more friendly to other people? or does that depend on me and how much i socialize him? Oh! and are nandays good talkers?? i know suns aren't haha i've always wanted a talking bird my female budgie is mumbling but i've been trying to teach her for about 7 months but i think she might say something X) of course it doesn't matter if he don't talk ill love him just the same

 

[bumblebec]

I actually like the sound of a sun scream how is the nanday scream different? i would love a bird that just wants to be involved with what im doing? (and dont mention gcc, i already looked into those haha) basically a best birdie friend! you know what i mean? i live with my mom and 2 sisters and my mom seems to be interested in my budgie alot so i know she'll be interested in my new conure, which is more friendly to other people? or does that depend on me and how much i socialize him? Oh! and are nandays good talkers?? i know suns aren't haha i've always wanted a talking bird my female budgie is mumbling but i've been trying to teach her for about 7 months but i think she might say something X) of course it doesn't matter if he don't talk ill love him just the same

Both species are friendly, all conures are, really. They are not known for bonding to one person to the point of attacking others, but they will choose their favourites. Any conure is gonna wanna be with you 24/7 given the chance, so teaching them to play by themselves or be in their cage quietly is a must, a conure screaming for attention is not fun.

Right now, for example, Mimi (nanday) is running up and down my arm and pinching my hand. She's trying to pull my hands off the keyboard and mouse so I'll give her cuddles. She is very needy and smoochy, but will happily go away for hours at a time if she has to. They are both pretty well behaved.

Conure aren't known of being good talkers, some can learn to mumble a few words, if any, but they are not great at it. My two can't talk but they do mimic sounds and laughter.

I think either a sun or nanday would make a great pet, I would suggest a nanday over personal preference. I think they're amazing birds, totally loveable, pretty, funny, cute, friendly, cuddly - they are just awesome! I love Mimi to bits. She's the perfect size, too. I love both Lola and Mimi, but Mimi is definitely the best "pet"-wise and my favourite, she's just SO cute and cuddly. She's my perfect bird.

Don't get me wrong about Lola, she is still a wonderful bird/pet, but because she doesn't like to be touched at all, it was rather disappointing. But lucky I have Mimi to lavish with cuddles. :09: Lola still loves to be in my company, groom me, give me kisses etc - just no petting or touching at all.

 

[bumblebec]

Oh and their screams are pretty much identical, but their other sounds are different. Lola has more high pitched peeps, meeps, toots, mumbles etc - but Mimi has more grizzly/low-pitched grumbles, growls, meeps etc. (if that makes sense...) Both their "laughs" sound different and Mimi can mimic more sounds then Lola. Neither of them can whistle, (I don't think conures can?), but Mimi likes to "pretend whistle" by making a very high pitched squeal in time to the whistle tune instead.

 

[BoomBoom]

As someone who has a sun conure, I really appreciate that very insightful, sincere comparison, Bumblebec. Very entertaining too. Thanks!

 

[DannyA93]

I think you've converted me to nandays! haha i have an idea though since my breeder has both maybe i should interact with both and let them(the babies) pick which one i take! interact with both species and see which bird "picks me"? is that a good idea?? its about 4 hours away, i know its not very local but traveling isn't a problem so i would only be able to there for the day. i would get there early and probly spend the day interacting with the babies and then making my decision when they kick me out but nandays are the only other species that had me considering them instead of going back to the sun as usual! I'm getting excited haha! and i found a cage with good reviews and a low price do you think it would be good??
Havana Flight Cage - Bird Cages at Bird Cages

 

[bumblebec]

Yes, that is a great conure cage IMO. My two share a cage that is literally two of those side by side, a "HQ Double Flight Cage", except I don't have the divider up. (I'll post a pic later!)

Definitely a good idea to meet some babies first. I would take anyone living with you as well so they can get a better understand of the aratinga conure scream. Nandays are "known" for being louder (not by too much) so just keep that in mind. If you plan to have a well trained and adjusted bird then the screams shouldn't cause too much concern, if they only scream a few times a day it's very tolerable. They crazy, cute, loyal and loveable personality of conures more then makes up for it.*Conures are my favourite types of birds, they're very well rounded and easy going most of the time, too.

Oh and when I said they are "nippy" it's more like a kitten or puppy playfully biting you when they're playing; it stings for a second or two, but no real damage. My two love to play on their backs and pinch my fingers. Sometimes they get over exited and give me a love bite but they're never drawn blood or bruised me. Their bites are not painful and they usually are so cute while they're doing it that you just laugh and keep playing with them. Like any bird they can get grumpy some days and like Mimi after a bath, but as long as you read their body language you'll avoid bites. Conures don't seek people out or lure them in to attack them like a cockatoo or amazon might.

I really love nandays, they are very underrated IMO! Very lovely birdies. Most people are initially more drawn to suns because of their amazing colours, but I think nandays are just as gorgeous. Mimi has this gorgeous *iridescent blue/teal on her chest and beautiful dark blue on her wings and tail. Not to mention her adorable "red pants"!

It's more personal preference, they are very, very similar.

It is a great idea to go meet and see some yourself and see which ones clicks with you best. I'm typing this on my iPhone right now but once I'm on the computer I can upload some pics of them both and I do have some sound files, just gotta figure out how to upload them.

 

[bumblebec]

Here is their cage, I bought it a month or so ago. It does have a divider, but they live together so it's not in. They use every single perch and toy. Conures are very active and need the biggest cage you can get without comprising bar width. If they had a cage twice this size they'd still use every inch of it! They run up and down, fly to perches, play on everything, chase each other all over the place. Mimi even plays on the bottom of the cage and eats the peanuts Lola drops, lol.

 

[bumblebec]

From their old cage.

 

[DannyA93]

The thing that actually drew me to suns was there cuddlyness of course and i love how there flight and tail feathers look with that dark blue and green! but nandays have that too!! there definatley a competition here haha jk but i could handle nips or even bites so that wont be a problem and my mom wont want to go that far i'd probly have to beg her and she knows what they sound like and that they are alot louder then on youtube! i've already explained a couple months ago i was gonna go down there and buy a baby but then i figured out i was gonna live in the dorms but that changed so i could get him now ill just have to show my mom that she cant spoil this bird like she does andie because a conure is probly alot smarter then a budgie haha! she likes to leave her flying around when we leave! D8< ugh drives me nuts! i chew her out everytime! she's like why dont you let her fly around! ):< or if she falls asleep anywhere other then her cage my mom likes to leave her there....i always put her back. if im not there she gets to do WHATEVER she wants! so ill give her a good talk that this bird WILL chew the wood stuff and couches and wires and could electricute himself or light the house on fire so this WILL NOT be acceptable anyway! i love those pictures! looks very spacious! my favorite is the second to last one! do you have any that show mimi's red pants really good?? and i think i found you on instagram??

 

[Conuregirl]

i hope you find the right bird! i love my nanday and when i take him to the bird store he's a star. people are so curious what kind of parrot he is and his temperament. lol the workers at the bird store always tell me how nandays get returned and are loud. they even said nandays can be louder than toos.

my guy does get loud but there are reasons why he's loud. if someone comes home, if he's scared of something, or a stanger is outside. he's super cuddly with me and makes the coolest noises. he's very talkative and expresses himself through sounds like purring, bird chatter, and jibber jabber. when he's begging to be picked up, he makes the cutest clicks and purs.

 

[DannyA93]

i hope you find the right bird! i love my nanday and when i take him to the bird store he's a star. people are so curious what kind of parrot he is and his temperament. lol

my guy does get loud but there are reasons why he's loud. if someone comes home, if he's scared of something, or a stanger is outside. he's super cuddly with me and makes the coolest noises. he's very talkative and expresses himself through sounds like purring, bird chatter, and jibber jabber. when he's begging to be picked up, he makes the cutest clicks and purs.

This is exactly what im looking for in a bird i appreciate your comment! i know it won't be all fun and games but thats part of the fun right? haha so i guess it is all fun kinda? in that sense lol

 

[DannyA93]

OH NO! BAD NEWS my breeders nanday babies are all sold ill do some research and see if theres any other breeders to check out and if not ill get me a baby sun ill be happy with either one jus developed a preference for a nanday /: wish me luck!

 

[ConureCrazy]

Oh no! I'm sorry. Hope you find a nanday breeder near you. If not, suns are just as great! =)